1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drying apparatus, and more particularly, to a composite washing system which is capable of continuously circulating laundry-drying air through dryers while obtaining a more efficient drying effect, so that the composite washing system has a suitable built-in structure.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, laundry dryers are adapted to dry laundry such as clothes. Such a laundry dryer receives completely-washed laundry, and then performs an operation to dry the laundry while continuously supplying hot air.
FIG. 1 illustrates a general drum dryer as an example of a conventional laundry dryer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional drum dryer mainly includes a body 10, a drying drum 20, a door 40, a motor 50, a drying heater 60, and a blowing fan 70.
The body 10 defines an appearance of the drum dryer. The drying drum 20 is rotatably disposed in the body 10. A laundry inlet 11 is formed through the front of the body 10. The door 40 is mounted to the front of the body 10 to open and close the laundry inlet 11.
The motor 50 is fixedly mounted on the bottom of the body 10 inside the body 10. The motor 50 generates a drive force to rotate the drying drum 20 and the blowing fan 70.
The drying heater 60 is arranged in a hot air supply path 91 in order to heat air flowing through the hot air supply path 91. The hot air supply path 91 guides a flow of hot air supplied into the drying drum 20.
The blowing fan 70 operates to outwardly discharge the hot air, namely, drying air, flowing through the interior of the drying drum 10. The blowing fan 70 communicates with a hot air discharge path 92.
In accordance with the above-mentioned configuration, when the blowing fan 70 operates, air around the laundry dryer, namely, ambient air, is introduced into the body 10, is heated while passing through the drying heater 60, and is then introduced into the drying drum 20 while being guided by the hot air supply path 91.
Accordingly, wet laundry received in the drying drum 20 is gradually dried by the hot air.
The air used to dry the laundry while passing through the drying drum 10 is outwardly discharged while being guided by the hot air discharge path 92.
When the laundry is completely dried in accordance with repeated execution of the above-mentioned procedure, the operations of the blowing fan 70 and drying heater 60 are stopped to complete the drying cycle.
In the conventional drum dryer, however, there is a problem in that laundry is inefficiently dried because the drying cycle is carried out while the laundry is in an entangled state.
Furthermore, there is a problem in that the laundry cannot be maintained in the dryer.
To this end, a demand for a new laundry dryer has recently been made which has an increased drying capacity and enables storage of dried laundry for a prolonged period of time. To satisfy this demand, a combination type dryer has been developed, as disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 2004/0194339 A1 and 2004/0154194 A1. Such a combination type dryer includes a separate drying cabinet, in addition to a drum dryer, namely, a tumble dryer.
In such a combination type dryer, a drying cabinet, which has a drying compartment for various clothes, is mounted on the top of a general drum dryer having a rotatable drum such that hot air is supplied to the drying cabinet.
The drying cabinet receives hot air supplied from the drum dryer to dry clothes received in the drying cabinet. The drying cabinet may also be used to store the dried clothes for a prolonged period of time.
However, the above-mentioned combination type dryer has a problem in that it cannot be of a built-in type because it has an air discharge type structure in which the air used to dry laundry is outwardly discharged from the dryer.
In other words, where the combination type dryer is built in a wall, it is necessary to provide a sufficient built-in space to provide a sufficient gap from the surface of the wall such that air is adequately discharged away from the dryer. For this reason, the appearance of the dryer is unattractive.
Furthermore, the air discharged from the combination type dryer is hot and humid, thereby causing the indoor environment to be an environment undesirable for the user, namely, a high-temperature and humid environment.
In addition, hot air is supplied to the laundry laid on shelves or hung on hangers in the drying cabinet at limited positions, so that a part of the laundry may be excessively dried, and another part of the laundry may be incompletely dried. For this reason, there are problems of a reduced drying performance of the laundry dryer, and damage to the laundry caused by excessive drying.